Within the framework of the reform program proposed by the new leadership of the Syrian Coalition, the Coalition’s political committee has set up a special committee to consult with the FSA groups with regards to political representation in the Coalition.

The committee has selected 12 FSA groups in accordance with criteria agreed upon and approved by the Coalition’s political committee and called on them to name representatives to be incorporated in the Coalition’s ranks.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Coalition said that most of the selected FSA groups have already agreed to name representatives in the Coalition. The political committee is now waiting for the rest to agree.

The special committee also decided to set up a working group to supervise coordination of efforts between the Coalition and military forces of the revolution.

“This important step brought together the political and military wings of the revolution and is expected to ensure strong representation of the FSA groups in the Coalition,” the Coalition said.

Based on recommendations by the special committee and the legal committee, the Coalition’s political committee has taken a unanimous decision to end the membership of the FSA General Staff which had represented the now dissolved FSA’s Supreme Military Council.

The Coalition’s political committee thanked members of the Coalition who represented the military movement over the last period for their efforts. It stressed that those members will still be welcome to name representatives within the framework of the 12 FSA groups chosen to be represented in the Coalition.

The reform program put forward by the President of the Syrian Coalition Riad Seif and approved by the political committee includes a series of steps designed to reform the Coalition’s bylaws and ensure strong representation of civil society and political forces in the Coalition.

The program also includes the establishment of joint working groups with local councils, political parties and bodies, the youth, the revolutionary forces, intellectual figures, and the business community.

The program is also aimed at ensuring wider participation in the decision-making process, promoting transparency and accountability and acquaint the Syrian public opinion with the course of the political action and the challenges facing it so that the Coalition regains the confidence of the Syrian people in their revolution and political national bodies. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)

A delegation of the Syrian opposition headed by General Coordinator of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Riad Hijab met French President Emmanuel Macron in the Elysee Palace and with the French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Odrian at the French Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning.

In the meetings, Hijab reiterated the opposition's commitment to the political process and any agreement contributing to the implementation of UN resolutions and improving the humanitarian situation for the Syrian people.

In a press statement following the meetings, the HNC said that Hijab expressed his gratitude for France's support for the Syrian revolution and the rights of the Syrian people, adding that Hijab discussed the Assad regime’s “preparations for an escalatory military campaign.”

The HNC leader warned that “the Assad regime and its allies are preparing for military escalation in different parts of Syria, especially near the Syrian-Iraqi borders, in the southern region, and in the countryside of Aleppo and Hama as well as seeking to undermine international agreements to end the fighting.”

Hijab also called for an active European role in the political process aimed at resolving the conflict in Syria.

The meeting with the French president and the French FM also discussed cooperation in the fight against terrorism and ways to fight extremist groups that are threatening global security.

Hijab also expressed the need to lay out “a new strategy for the negotiating process, one which gives the Syrian people a glimmer of hope and alleviates their daily suffering,” said the HNC statement.

Macron’s office stated support for the UN-mediated Geneva peace talks to end the conflicts in Syria.

"The President of the Republic recalled his personal commitment to the Syrian situation and his support for the Syrian opposition for a political transition in Syria," read an Elysee Palace statement. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)